Bujumbura : traders distraught after border closure with the DRC

SOS Médias Burundi

Bujumbura, December 20, 2025 — Nearly two weeks after the closure of the Gatumba border crossing linking Burundi to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundian traders are beginning to feel the full force of the economic consequences. The Bujumbura City Market, in the north of the commercial capital, also known as Kwa Siyoni, is particularly affected.

Every day, hundreds of Congolese from Uvira, Sange, Luberizi, Luvunge, Bwegera, Kamanyola, and Bukavu crossed the border to stock up on clothing, food, household appliances, and other goods at the Siyoni market. Since the border crossing closed on December 10, these clients have almost completely disappeared, plunging Burundian traders into uncertainty and fear for the future.

“Since the border closure, our sales have plummeted. Congolese customers were our best. Without them, we risk having to close our doors and go home empty-handed,” confides a secondhand clothing vendor at the market, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Another merchant, a seller of electronic equipment, shares the same concern : “Our business depended on Congolese customers for 70% of our revenue. Since Gatumba, it’s been a complete standstill. The losses are already evident. Those who provided transport between the two countries have closed their agencies. We are threatened too,” he explains.

The merchants are calling on the Burundian government to quickly engage in discussions with Congolese authorities to allow the border crossing to reopen. “It is essential that the border be open on both sides to save our jobs and allow families to survive,” insists a vendor.

Several merchants also fear an escalation of economic tensions if the security situation in South Kivu continues. According to them, an entire chain of cross-border economic activities has been paralyzed.

Once considered one of the most dynamic crossings between Burundi and the DRC, the Gatumba border post has now become the symbol of a disrupted exchange, with serious social and economic consequences for the populations of both countries.

The city of Uvira, which fell to the M23 on December 9, is located just a few kilometers from Bujumbura, Burundi’s commercial capital, where the United Nations agencies and a large part of the central administration are concentrated.

Reactivated in 2021, the M23, composed mainly of Congolese Tutsis, now controls several strategic territories in North Kivu and South Kivu.

Kinshasa accuses Kigali of providing military support to the rebel movement, while Rwanda denounces the support given by the DRC and Burundi to the FDLR, an armed Rwandan Hutu group accused of participating in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsis.

These cross-accusations persist despite the Washington agreement. Kigali continues to deny any direct support for the M23, calling the reports of UN experts—which estimate the number of Rwandan soldiers fighting alongside the rebels at between 5,000 and 7,000—”fabrications.”

Furthermore, the M23 is now part of the Congo River Alliance (AFC), led by Corneille Nangaa, former president of the Congolese Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), which advocates for a federal state in the DRC.

For its part, Burundi has deployed more than 10,000 soldiers to South Kivu to support the FARDC and the Wazalendo militias allied with the Congolese government. The border remains closed despite the recent announcement of the M23 rebels’ withdrawal.